Kidnapping Teens or Building Homes: Which Hurts Peace?

Covering the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, they just couldn't resist editorializing about settlements.

The article "Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas abducted 3 teenagers" is straightforward in its coverage of the abduction of the three youths, Prime Minister Netanyahu's declaration that Hamas is responsible, and the efforts of the IDF to find and rescue the boys.

And then CNN just couldn't help themselves.

Here are the last three paragraphs of the article:

The expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has been a lasting point of contention in the region.It has altered the map of the Palestinian territories, making it more difficult to draw a contiguous Palestinian state as part of any peace agreement, according to critics.

The highly contentious issue of Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians seek for a future state, has hurt peace efforts.

You see how CNN inserted a biased opinion into what should have been an objective news story? They could have written that the alliance between the Palestinian Authority and the terrorist group Hamas has "hurt" peace efforts. That would not be so far-fetched because Hamas admits that it is not interested in making peace with Israel. That would not be a subjective opinion. It is simply a factual observation that the pact with a group that rejects peace will by definition hurt peace efforts.

If you want to write about what "hurts peace efforts," then write about a government that is backed by a group that has just kidnapped three kids. "

But no -- CNN's analysis of what "hurts peace efforts" comes down to the issue of Israeli construction.